Homes being fumigated become tented targets for burglars

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Houses covered with tents filled with poison are not enough to keep out some thieves. KABC reports that fumigation burglaries are on the rise in Southern California with 20 incidents reported over the past few weeks.

A South Los Angeles resident told KABC her house was tented on a Thursday, broken into on a Friday and that the termite company notified her on Saturday.

Police told [Vera] Baptiste the way the house looked, the burglars were here for hours, risking their lives the entire time.

"They said they had to have gas masks," she said. "They were professionals in what they were doing, they couldn't get any fingerprints because they used gloves."

KABC spoke to a security expert who believes the incidents are organized, and suggested residents take measures to protect their homes by:

Meeting the people executing the fumigation.

Being there when the tent goes up.

Staying until everyone drives off.

Alerting police of the dates the tent will be up, and requesting extra patrols.

However, if a house gets tented and then there's Cher music, peanut butter sandwiches and/or the Great Mutato, it's something else entirely.